The PlayStation 5 has been killing it in terms of sales, reportedly outselling the Xbox Series X|S three to one, possibly even higher, but what a lot of people don’t remember is that Sony was in the exact same situation with thePS1. The PS1 dominated the N64, selling 102.5 million units compared to the N64’s 32.9 million.
When you look at the game library, you can see why. RPGs were in their golden era here,with so many classics, and a lot of game-changing titles were released as well. Certain genres like survival horror, metroidvania, and stealth got their first big break in the industry on the PS1.
Updated on Jun 09, 2025, by Dominic Allen:The PlayStation brand’s over 30 years old, which is astounding to see. Many people remember the PS1’s launch in 1995, but that wasn’t when the system was first released. It came out in 1995 in North America but was first released a year prior in Japan. 1994 wasn’t represented previously, but now there’s a new entry about the best game for the PS1’s debut year.
The few PlayStation titles that released in its initial 1994 release year were uneventful, to say the least, except for one. Manypeople likely haven’t heard of King’s Field, except for diehard FromSoftware fans. The developer behind the acclaimed Souls series that began with 2009’s Demon’s Souls had many games prior to its breakout smash hit.
If there’s one title that’s the true origin point of the series, it’s King’s Field. An action RPG with extremely difficult dungeons, but played from a first-person view, FromSoftware fans will get a big kick out of this game. It’s fascinating to play knowing what this style of game would inevitably end up being, and if there’s one title you must check out from PlayStation’s launch year, it has to be King’s Field.
During the launch year of the PS1, not a lot of hard-hitting titles were released. You had the first Twisted Metal, which is pretty good but bare-bones by today’s standards. What shines brightest, especially regarding what PlayStation used to be, is Jumping Flash. A 3D platformer played in first-person, it still feels unique today because of how early of a 3D platformer it was.
Keep in mind this was in 1995, before Super Mario 64, and you still played this game with the OG PlayStation controller without analog sticks. Sure, some people might find it dated today, but like old-school tank-controller survival horror, the game is built around the control style, so it works really well. Thankfully, you’re able to play Jumping Flash on modern PlayStation systems, so you can check out this forgotten gem.
1996 was a great year all around, whether you played on PC, Nintendo, or PlayStation. Each platform had era-defining titles, like Quake and Super Mario 64, but the one for PlayStation was Resident Evil. This game alone essentially birthed the survival horror template that is still used to this day.
Managing items and resources, limited supplies, and returning to previous areas to unlock new rooms still occurs in modern games like Alan Wake 2. The original RE holds up better than you may think, though that depends on the version played. The best version is the DS port called Deadly Silence, which adds a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. However,that port is rather expensive, so the one available on PS Plus or GOG are great alternatives.
There will be a huge debate over whether Final Fantasy 7 or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was the PlayStation game of the year. FF7 remains a huge favorite to many people, but in terms of which game impacted the industry the most, and its influence can still be seen today, that honor belongs to Symphony. Obviously, Metroid came before this, but like Resident Evil, many of the core genre staples still seen in current metroidvanias started with this game.
Metroid always felt more akin to an adventure title with its Zelda-style item progression, but Symphony brought RPG mechanics to the table with a leveling system and a vast amount of gear to collect. Even thoughmany metroidvanias in recent years have surpassed Symphony, it’s still a certified classic and one of the most important games on the console.
A game just as influential as Symphony of the Night is the originalMetal Gear Solid. To make things clear, MGS1 was not the first game to include a vast amount of cinematic elements. Plenty of early titles on PC did just that, but on the other hand, nothing felt this big before.
Some of the iconic cutscenes in this game,with the voice actingand incredible music, gave you a grand cinematic emotional experience that you never felt before. You may have seen it before, but you never felt it. This made Metal Gear Solid special, and the story and presentation still hit hard today. Out of all the PS1 classics, MGS1 may be the best-aged game of them all.
Across both Nintendo and PlayStation, 1999 wasn’t too stellar of a year. There were plenty of great games, but not much on the level of MGS1, Symphony, or FF7. The first Soul Reaver is pretty good but hasn’t aged too well, so the PS1 game of the year goes to Silent Hill 1. This may seem hypocritical, as SH1 has dated elements as well, but the game remains scary to this day, which is the most important part.
The sound design, atmosphere, and scares will never age, even if the graphics do. A genius horror title with influences from Resident Evil, David Lynch, Stephen King, and others, it offers a brilliant story and world where reality becomes a nightmare. So many people start the franchise with Silent Hill 2, but the correct choice is starting with Silent Hill 1.
2000 was the swansong year for the PS1 before the arrival of the PS2 that October. Vagrant Story comes really close to being the game of the year, butTony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2just gets the slight edge. Pro Skater 2 was one of those sequels, like Super Smash Bros. Melee or Jak 2, that completely evolved the series.
Going back to Pro Skater 1 after this game came out seemed like a Herculean task because Pro Skater 2 improved the gameplay that much. The introduction of manuals chaining combos together is where the gameplay depth of the franchise truly started. While it’s not the best Tony Hawk game, it is the largest evolution, which is perhaps why it’s the highest-rated game in the series.
